My name is Kathleen Riley Petrie and I teach 5th grade at the Molin School in Newburyport. I am expecting a baby boy the first week of August to add to my growing family of . I have a wonderful husband named Scott, a 12 year-old bonus-son named Colin, and an adorable,18 month-old son named Matthew. The new baby’s name is still undecided. My family has a beach house on Salisbury Beach, so since a very early age my life has been connected to the ocean. I have a lifetime of summer memories that mean so much to me. We have a small tight-knit community of “beach friends” made up of the same families spanning over several generations. The beach is my “HAPPY PLACE” and I can not wait to share it all with my sons. I am so incredibly thankful that my boys will also have the opportunity to create their own memories of spending their summers by the ocean.
April 8, 2011
The second portion of class tonight was spent discussing one of the seven essential principals of ocean literacy which states that the ocean and humans are inextricably linked. We had a great discussion about some events that are currently happening in our oceans such as; the disc dilemna from Hooksett, NH appearing in England, the tsunami in Japan, the radiation from the nuclear power plants in Japan being detected in snow in Concord, NH, erosion, dunes, etc... Rob gave us something to think about which came to my mind while reflecting on the class. With 60% of our population living near the oceans, why is ocean literacy not a part of our national science curriculum standards? I was fortunate enough to grow up in an area where the Merrimack River played a major role in my family. My grandparents had a house on the river where a lot time was spent fishing. Both sets of my grandparents worked in the mills along the river. I went on several field trips as a child to the textile mills in both Lawrence and Lowell. Now as a teacher, I take my students on several field trips where the ocean is not the focus, but it could be easily embedded in the lessons being taught. Living and teaching in areas so close to the ocean, I feel fortunate and look forward to tomorrow's adventure... Good night :)
April 9, 2011
What a beautiful day! Today's adventure took us out to Sandy Point and the weather could not have been more cooperative. When I think back to this day... I will always remember the 10 minutes we had to rest and relax on a secluded beach with the sun on our faces and peacefullness in our minds. We had just walked quite a ways through the dunes, so the break was welcomed. I enjoyed the activity of creating art with the things around you on the beach. I am not familiar with Plum Island at all, so I was surprised to learn how close it is to Ipswich.
Gary educated us on the habitat of the dunes and all the vegetation and animals that live and wander througout. We were fortunate enough to see a snake and some
animal tracks along the way. The tide pool experience lso great! Although I didn't wander too far from the sandbar, I was still able to fins many living and non-living things to capture my attention.
Thank you so much for providing this experience. Learning about Plum Isalnd, a barrier island, and how it was formed by a large glacier is something I look forward to sharing with my kiddos.
April 10, 2011
What a busy day!!! First, we were off to Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury. I have visited the farm several times with my 5th grade class as field trip experience. Although, today's visit made me think back to the Cushing Museum speaker who taught us about the division between the agriculturalists and the merchants. It is a great opportunity to visit the farm and hear about what life was like back then and to be able to visualize it. One of my lessons will definitely be about the two ways of life and how Newburyport broke apart from Newbury.
Second, we met Ghlee Woodsworth at Oakhill Cemetary. I was impressed by the knowledge, both she and her late father, have about the important people who played a role in our local history. I was intereseted in her story of how she learned to repair gravestones and has volunteered her time cleaning up the cemetary. I would like to get a group of students together to help her with the community service effort.
Lastly, we went to Amesbury to visit Lowell's Boat Shop. I was amazed at how many boats they made and sent out of that little bost shop on the Merrimack River. Our guide was a wealth of information and he took great pride in sharing his knowledge with us.
I look forward to incorporating some of these resources from our community into classroom lessons. However, for now I have been educating my kiddos of all the things I've learned because of this Boat Camp class. Thank you for the experience!
April 5, 2011
My name is Kathleen Riley Petrie and I teach 5th grade at the Molin School in Newburyport. I am expecting a baby boy the first week of August to add to my growing family of . I have a wonderful husband named Scott, a 12 year-old bonus-son named Colin, and an adorable,18 month-old son named Matthew. The new baby’s name is still undecided.
My family has a beach house on Salisbury Beach, so since a very early age my life has been connected to the ocean. I have a lifetime of summer memories that mean so much to me. We have a small tight-knit community of “beach friends” made up of the same families spanning over several generations. The beach is my “HAPPY PLACE” and I can not wait to share it all with my sons. I am so incredibly thankful that my boys will also have the opportunity to create their own memories of spending their summers by the ocean.
April 8, 2011
The second portion of class tonight was spent discussing one of the seven essential principals of ocean literacy which states that the ocean and humans are inextricably linked. We had a great discussion about some events that are currently happening in our oceans such as; the disc dilemna from Hooksett, NH appearing in England, the tsunami in Japan, the radiation from the nuclear power plants in Japan being detected in snow in Concord, NH, erosion, dunes, etc...
April 9, 2011
What a beautiful day! Today's adventure took us out to Sandy Point and the weather could not have been more cooperative. When I think back to this day... I will always remember the 10 minutes we had to rest and relax on a secluded beach with the sun on our faces and peacefullness in our minds. We had just walked quite a ways through the dunes, so the break was welcomed. I enjoyed the activity of creating art with the things around you on the beach. I am not familiar with Plum Island at all, so I was surprised to learn how close it is to Ipswich.
Gary educated us on the habitat of the dunes and all the vegetation and animals that live and wander througout. We were fortunate enough to see a snake and some
animal tracks along the way. The tide pool experience lso great! Although I didn't wander too far from the sandbar, I was still able to fins many living and non-living things to capture my attention.
Thank you so much for providing this experience. Learning about Plum Isalnd, a barrier island, and how it was formed by a large glacier is something I look forward to sharing with my kiddos.
April 10, 2011
What a busy day!!! First, we were off to Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury. I have visited the farm several times with my 5th grade class as field trip experience. Although, today's visit made me think back to the Cushing Museum speaker who taught us about the division between the agriculturalists and the merchants. It is a great opportunity to visit the farm and hear about what life was like back then and to be able to visualize it. One of my lessons will definitely be about the two ways of life and how Newburyport broke apart from Newbury.
Second, we met Ghlee Woodsworth at Oakhill Cemetary. I was impressed by the knowledge, both she and her late father, have about the important people who played a role in our local history. I was intereseted in her story of how she learned to repair gravestones and has volunteered her time cleaning up the cemetary. I would like to get a group of students together to help her with the community service effort.
Lastly, we went to Amesbury to visit Lowell's Boat Shop. I was amazed at how many boats they made and sent out of that little bost shop on the Merrimack River. Our guide was a wealth of information and he took great pride in sharing his knowledge with us.
I look forward to incorporating some of these resources from our community into classroom lessons. However, for now I have been educating my kiddos of all the things I've learned because of this Boat Camp class. Thank you for the experience!
Boat Camp SS Lesson #1.doc
Boat Camp SS Lesson #2.doc
Boat Camp SS Lesson #3.doc